"Accordingly, Dr Sharma has been suspended with immediate effect," the ministry added.

Prior to CDSCO, which he joined in November 2006, Sharma worked with Cadila Healthcare, JK Pharmaceuticals and others. He also served as the President of the Delhi chapter of the Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance (IPA), the lobby group of top pharma players, in 2018.

On being elected as the Delhi President of IPA, Sharma had said that he was setting three goals for his tenure namely "activity, membership drive and fund generation." "We need to set targets and hopefully we will achieve them,ā€¯ he had said, as reported by website Pharmabiz.

India's drug regulator, in the past, has been accused of having close connections with pharma players, leading to questions being raised on its basic responsibility, which is to protect consumers and patients, a report by ET said.

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